NTSB: Plane Crash That Killed Prominent Pryor Couple Still A Mystery

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its first report on the plane crash that killed a prominent couple from Pryor last month.

Ivan and Adina Williams died when their single-engine plane crashed about 60 miles northeast of Fort Smith, Arkansas on October 21, 2013. Search crews didn't find the wreckage of the plane until the following day.

10/22/2013: Related Story: Pryor Community Mourns Couple Killed In Plane Crash

The Williamses were flying to the Claremore Airport after a trip to Alabama.

According to the NTSB's newly-released Preliminary Report on the incident, the Piper PA-32R crashed after descending from cruise altitude at about 2:05 p.m. on October 21. 

The investigator says Williams radioed air traffic controllers that there was bad weather along his route from Alabama to Claremore. A controller gave him headings to fly around the weather, but after the plane turned it descended at a high rate of speed and there was no other radio contact with the flight.

The NTSB says Williams received a private pilot certificate with a rating for single-engine land aircraft on April 25, 2013. He received a third class medial certificate on January 13, 2013. On that application he reported he had accumulated 45 hours of total flight time.

On October 3, 2013, he reported to his airplane's insurance company that he had accumulated 204 hours of total flight time which included 16 hours of flight time in the airplane in which he crashed, according to the NTSB.

The investigator says he found no issues with the airframe or engine that would have "precluded normal operations" before the crash happened.

The investigation continues. The NTSB will release two more reports on the crash, the Factual Report and the Probable Cause Report, over the next several months.